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3.75 AVERAGE
3.75 AVERAGE
megan goldin doesn't miss! i read this right after "the night swim" because i loved her writing and storytelling so much. and "stay awake" was no different.
such an interesting story about a woman who is the main suspect in a murder she doesn't remember committing, from a night she cannot remember at all.
told in present day and flashbacks (my favorite kind of storytelling tbh), we follow liv reese as she tries to piece together what is happening to her when she can only recall things from 2 years prior. you definitely stay guessing throughout the novel, because we can only form conclusions based on the memories she does have mixed with new information she tries to make sense of.
i think the only reason i gave this 4 stars and not 5 is because i loved "the night swim" a little more and gave that 5 stars hahah. but highly recommend this one!!
such an interesting story about a woman who is the main suspect in a murder she doesn't remember committing, from a night she cannot remember at all.
told in present day and flashbacks (my favorite kind of storytelling tbh), we follow liv reese as she tries to piece together what is happening to her when she can only recall things from 2 years prior. you definitely stay guessing throughout the novel, because we can only form conclusions based on the memories she does have mixed with new information she tries to make sense of.
i think the only reason i gave this 4 stars and not 5 is because i loved "the night swim" a little more and gave that 5 stars hahah. but highly recommend this one!!
I loved this book. I’d give it 5 stars but I have too many questions after finishing it, so 4 stars it is.
I’m frustrated that we don’t find out 1) why the murderer killed the first two victims, 2) why the murderer went thru all the trouble of leaving those cryptic messages for Liv and drugging her with the chocolate 3) what event triggered Liv’s amnesia in London thus propelling her to New York, 4) who called Liv on the day she got stabbed, and 5) other plot holes I probably missed. I just don’t understand why a murder mystery book exists without the explanation about the motive behind the murders. This ruined the whole book for me. Otherwise, this story is very well written and had me engrossed for the 2 days it took me to finish the book.
I’m frustrated that we don’t find out 1) why the murderer killed the first two victims, 2) why the murderer went thru all the trouble of leaving those cryptic messages for Liv and drugging her with the chocolate 3) what event triggered Liv’s amnesia in London thus propelling her to New York, 4) who called Liv on the day she got stabbed, and 5) other plot holes I probably missed. I just don’t understand why a murder mystery book exists without the explanation about the motive behind the murders. This ruined the whole book for me. Otherwise, this story is very well written and had me engrossed for the 2 days it took me to finish the book.
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I would like to thank @netgalley and @stmartinspress for this advance listen of Stay Awake. This was one of the best thrillers I’ve listened to in a while. It kept me guessing and was unpredictable. The unreliable narrator was done really well and you felt her confusion along with her.
Every time Liv falls asleep she forgets everything that happened to her . The last thing she remembers is two years ago. She leaves notes on her body and drinks large amounts of caffeine to stay awake. When a man is murdered and the words “Stay Awake” are written in his blood, Liv is the prime suspect. She has no recollection of killing anyone. As she is trying to piece together what happened with her memory constantly resetting every time she sleeps, she is also being stalked.
#netgalley #thrillers #thrillerbooks
Every time Liv falls asleep she forgets everything that happened to her . The last thing she remembers is two years ago. She leaves notes on her body and drinks large amounts of caffeine to stay awake. When a man is murdered and the words “Stay Awake” are written in his blood, Liv is the prime suspect. She has no recollection of killing anyone. As she is trying to piece together what happened with her memory constantly resetting every time she sleeps, she is also being stalked.
#netgalley #thrillers #thrillerbooks
A slightly better than average thriller mystery.
The obvious comparison is to Memento, but fails to reach those highs. It's a low-to-mid-level 3-star rating for me.
The obstacle: more than being unreliable, our narrator--Liv--was irritating (paranoid, and often dumb).
The obvious comparison is to Memento, but fails to reach those highs. It's a low-to-mid-level 3-star rating for me.
The obstacle: more than being unreliable, our narrator--Liv--was irritating (paranoid, and often dumb).
i have been eating up audiobooks lately - the perfect partner to cleaning and crocheting and driving to work and doing data cleanup and pretty much any other mindless activity.
stay awake centers around liv, who is suffering from some sort of memory loss - she consistently wakes up not knowing who she is, where she is, or WHEN she is. the only thing she has are cryptic messages written on her hands (in her own handwriting!) to "STAY AWAKE" and "don't trust anyone". it's a little hard to review without spoiling anything, but it was definitely an exciting listen.
however, i will say that i was not at all satisfied with the ending - i felt there were a lot of loose ends left hanging and the wrap-up felt a little bit rushed. and i understand that the nature of a book with an mc with memory loss requires repetitive statements, but it got to be a little bit exhaustive for me.
i'd also like to note that if you opt for the audiobook, one of the narrators (not sure which one) was pronouncing things so strangely, and doing some very goofy interpretations of lines that i was taken out of it. this might have been a better visual read.
stay awake centers around liv, who is suffering from some sort of memory loss - she consistently wakes up not knowing who she is, where she is, or WHEN she is. the only thing she has are cryptic messages written on her hands (in her own handwriting!) to "STAY AWAKE" and "don't trust anyone". it's a little hard to review without spoiling anything, but it was definitely an exciting listen.
however, i will say that i was not at all satisfied with the ending - i felt there were a lot of loose ends left hanging and the wrap-up felt a little bit rushed. and i understand that the nature of a book with an mc with memory loss requires repetitive statements, but it got to be a little bit exhaustive for me.
i'd also like to note that if you opt for the audiobook, one of the narrators (not sure which one) was pronouncing things so strangely, and doing some very goofy interpretations of lines that i was taken out of it. this might have been a better visual read.
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
liv was so hard to root for; larry regan & darcy halliday on the other hand...
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Happy Publication Day!
Megan Goldin is one of my "must read" authors for mystery/thrillers (Jennifer Hillier and Greer Hendricks/Sarah Pekkanen being the others!)- she does a great job creating the setting of the story and developing a mystery with characters and actions that are believable. This book had me guessing a lot and I felt that the ending really pulled everything together well.
I was worried going into "Stay Awake" because main character, Liv, has amnesia. Short-term memory loss so that every time she wakes up she has lost a large chunk of her life. Liv remembers details from a certain point, but as a reader, we don't get those details until much later on. This book made me want to re-watch the 2000 video Memento -- when a short term memory loss story is good, it's worth the "twists" and craziness that it takes to get to that point! While the memory loss is not completely believable, I felt that it was done well and added to the story.
I highly recommend this book to people who enjoy this genre-
Thank you Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for an advanced e-copy of this book. I look forward to reading this one again in a few years when I've forgotten most of the details. I suppose I should put a little more belief into the short-term memory loss thing XD
Megan Goldin is one of my "must read" authors for mystery/thrillers (Jennifer Hillier and Greer Hendricks/Sarah Pekkanen being the others!)- she does a great job creating the setting of the story and developing a mystery with characters and actions that are believable. This book had me guessing a lot and I felt that the ending really pulled everything together well.
I was worried going into "Stay Awake" because main character, Liv, has amnesia. Short-term memory loss so that every time she wakes up she has lost a large chunk of her life. Liv remembers details from a certain point, but as a reader, we don't get those details until much later on. This book made me want to re-watch the 2000 video Memento -- when a short term memory loss story is good, it's worth the "twists" and craziness that it takes to get to that point! While the memory loss is not completely believable, I felt that it was done well and added to the story.
I highly recommend this book to people who enjoy this genre-
Thank you Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for an advanced e-copy of this book. I look forward to reading this one again in a few years when I've forgotten most of the details. I suppose I should put a little more belief into the short-term memory loss thing XD
I'm torn on how I feel about this book because it was an entertaining mystery and most of the ending surprised me, so that's good. On the other hand, Liv's chapters became so painfully repetitive and she kept doing the most frustrating things. Every time she came across a person who could give her answers or helpful information she would decide to just leave without asking questions instead. I have trouble believing someone in her situation would act this way or make these choices. I also have trouble believing someone could write so much info on their hands and arms without it getting smudged. Notes, phone numbers, addresses... How big are her arms?? Is she not sweating at all while she runs all over town freaking out? I know that we were supposed to experience her having the same thoughts each time she woke up, but after a while I just wanted it to end. I found her pre-memory loss backstory chapters annoying as well. Had it not been for the chapters with the detectives solving the case, I might have given up.